The remarkable story of the heiress who hid away from the world

BILL DEDMAN, a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter, stumbled on this extraordinary
story by accident. In 2009, he was browsing the Connecticut property pages
when he noticed a house for sale in New Canaan called Le Beau Château,
priced at $24m. But what really struck him was a footnote saying the house
had been unoccupied since the owner, Huguette Clark, bought it — in l951.

Could that be right? He decided to visit the house, but it was hidden down a
long drive and the gates were locked. He found the caretaker, who told him
yes, that was right — Mrs Clark bought the property in l95l when she was
worried about a possible Russian attack on New York, but never moved in. The
house, though, he insisted, was well maintained.

Dedman went on the internet and found that Mrs Clark owned an even grander
house, Bellosguardo in Santa